A variety of machines for cleaning a surface such as a carpeted floor are available for both residential and commercial use, and are well known in the art. For example, prior art floor cleaning machines are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,908,220, 4,178,654, 4,805,256 and 7,025,835, all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Certain prior art floor cleaning machines are operated by a single hand of a user, while others are larger and more elaborate and require a user to steer the machine by walking behind or riding on the machine while manipulating the machine's controls. Floor cleaning machines of the walk behind or ride on variety are generally comprised of a chassis supported by a plurality of wheels, one or more of which is steerable to control the path of the machine. The chassis may be directed by the use of a steerable wheel or stick, which is coupled to a steering mechanism comprised of various gears. The chassis may further be propelled by one or more drive mechanisms. The chassis may also accommodate a number of different cleaning apparatus, such as fluid dispensing and collection apparatus, a brush, a squeegee, a burnisher, and/or other implements for cleaning and/or polishing a floor surface.
The chassis typically supports tanks used to hold cleaning fluids, as well as spent cleaning fluids suctioned from the floor. Typically, the larger the capacity of the fluid holding tank(s), the longer the cleaning machine may be operated before replacing cleaning fluid and removing spent fluid. Due in part to the high number of component parts required to operate the cleaning machine, and also due in part to the relative size limitations of the cleaning machines, the tanks used to hold cleaning fluid and spent cleaning fluid are relatively limited in capacity. For example, as floor cleaning machines are often used in tight spaces, such as bathrooms and hallways, it is desirable to make floor cleaning machines as compact as possible, which may cause a reduction in the size of the fluid holding tanks. Many of the components associated with the cleaning machine are typically surrounded by a housing to protect the internal components from the environment. Individuals that are working around the machine are also prevented from touching the sometimes moving and often hot internal components. Thus, the size of the tanks used to store fluids is often reduced as a result of these and other constraints.
There is also a problem associated with maintaining the various cleaning implements used for cleaning or polishing a floor surface in a lubricated state. Dry brushes are generally viewed as being less efficient in cleaning a floor surface. Therefore, fluid is dispensed on to the brushes of a cleaning machine, often throughout the cleaning cycle and at a near constant flow rate, in order to keep the brushes lubricated enough to achieve the desired scrubbing action against the floor surface. This near constant fluid flow rate also places constraints on the duration of the cleaning cycle, as the user must stop the machine in order to add new cleaning fluid and remove spent fluid, thereby adding to the entire time required to clean a surface. Additionally, brushes used to clean carpeted floor surfaces, which are often robust and designed for repeated use, must be lubricated with a sufficient amount of cleaning fluid in order to effectively clean the carpeted floor surface (i.e., the brush must be lubricated to a certain degree in order that its scrubbing action loosens soils that may be present and entrains the soils in the fluid for removal).
Thus, it is important to optimize the use of fluid required to lubricate the brushes or other cleaning implements of the cleaning machine. If the fluid is dispensed too quickly, the supply tank is depleted too quickly and the operator has to cease operation of the machine to refill the cleaning fluid tank. As a result, it takes more time and uses more cleaning fluid to clean a surface, which typically results in additional time to allow the surface to dry before it may be traveled on or otherwise used again. By reducing the flow of cleaning fluid, while at the same time maintaining the brushes in a sufficiently lubricated state, a user is able to operate the cleaning machine longer and thereby prolong or extend each cleaning cycle (defined by the capacity of the cleaning fluid tank), and reduce stoppages for replacing and removing the fluids in the cleaning machines.
Additionally, typical prior art cleaning machines of the ride on type have a constant rate of travel, which often does not permit the brushes and other implements to contact the surface long enough to effectuate cleaning of the surface. This effect is exacerbated by the machine's changing of direction, often zig-zag pattern of travel, initial time to saturate the brushes or other implements, etc. Therefore, the fluid is dispensed enough to saturate the brush but not adequately lubricate the surface to allow soils to be removed from the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,835 to Pedlar et al., discloses a dual brush scrubbing assembly, which comprises two rigid barriers (90a, 90b) bracketed adjacent to each of the two brushes (64, 68). However, these barriers do not serve the same purpose as the squeegee assembly (29), which is separate and apart from the barriers (90a, 90b), as the barriers are rigid and continuously contact the floor surface (i.e., there are no apertures or conduits for cleaning fluid to pass therethrough). In addition, the Pedlar patent relies on the motion of the brushes to urge cleaning fluid back into the center of the scrubbing assembly, rather than on relying on the barriers to puddle or pool water between the barriers and the brushes. Furthermore, these barriers are not allowed to move to address changes in direction, and there is no associated fluid collection apparatus for cleaning fluid that avoids the barriers while the floor cleaning machine is in use. Although Pedlar does disclose an embodiment where the cleaning fluid is permitted to escape (by reducing the height of a section of extender member 104), this open area is disclosed as being at the front of the scrubbing assembly (not the rear), and is designed primarily for releasing surface materials suspended or dissolved in the fluid. Thus, the Pedlar patent does not address the problems associated with spent cleaning fluid remaining in the vicinity of the cleaning brushes, which in turn causes fluid entrained with soils or dirt to be deposited back onto the floor surface. This entrained or spent cleaning fluid is also permitted to travel beyond the limited range of the barriers while the floor cleaning machine is in motion and during changes of direction, thereby creating further problems with spent cleaning fluid being left on the floor surface and not collected by the spent cleaning fluid holding tank.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0251037 to Ruffo discloses a floor cleaning machine with a trailing floor wiper arranged at the rear of a brush associated with the cleaning machine, which travels in the direction of the cleaning machine including when the cleaning machine changes direction. Although the Ruffo patent publication discloses an oscillating floor wiper, the oscillation of the floor wiper is based on friction caused by the wiper sliding on the floor surface (see ¶[0031]). Furthermore, the floor wiper is in continuous contact with the floor surface when the floor cleaning machine is in use, and does not have any apertures or other conduit for cleaning fluid to be collected from and removed from the floor surface while the cleaning machine is in use. And lastly, the floor wiper of Ruffo is spaced a distance away from the brush such that a substantial portion of any pooled cleaning fluid is not in contact with the brush while the floor cleaning machine is in use (see, e.g., FIG. 1). Ruffo also suffers from the same shortcomings as Pedlar in that it does not address the removal of spent cleaning fluid after it has become entrained with dirt or soil, yet remains in contact with the floor and the brush due to the rigid floor wiper and lack of aperture(s) or conduit(s) for removing spent cleaning fluid.
Thus, there is a long felt need to provide a floor cleaning machine that is compact yet allows for efficient and controlled dispensing and maintaining of cleaning fluid on the floor surface that extends the cleaning capacity of the cleaning fluid, and that allows for a more controlled collection of spent cleaning fluid during the cleaning process. The following disclosure describes an improved floor cleaning machine that includes a cleaning fluid collection assembly that cooperates with cleaning fluid dispensing apparatus for accomplishing this objective. Other objectives accomplished and other problems solved by the present disclosure are described in the Summary and Detailed Description below.